


Hatching

by disconcerting_feelings



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: And all they've done is hatch, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, Grooming, Hatching, He's so proud of his boys, Parent Donald Duck, They act like ducks, preening
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:14:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21993520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disconcerting_feelings/pseuds/disconcerting_feelings
Summary: Donald is happy to see his nephews hatch.
Relationships: Dewey Duck & Donald Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck
Comments: 12
Kudos: 188
Collections: Fav Recs





	Hatching

It was so late. Donald knew the boys were due to hatch any day now, but the stress of being so alert and awake drained him. Brooding wasn’t exactly natural for male ducks. The tiring combination of watching the eggs and any possible threats had him on edge. Others were starting to notice how tired he was but when they tried to suggest a surrogate to help, his building stress lashed out at them. They wisely decided to keep quiet about the matter.

Now, however, the anger was gone. There was only the soft movement of the sea outside the houseboat. The warmth of the eggs and the empty pool’s makeshift nest of blankets only reminded Donald of the sleep he wanted so badly. Before he knew it, his eyes slipped closed while he cuddled in on Della’s eggs.

Right as sleep almost caught him, he heard it. His eyes opened wide as he searched for the sound. Sure enough one of the eggs was moving- _Hubert_. A small puncture broke through the shell.

He could feel tears welling up as he shifted forward in anticipation. He didn’t even realize he was whispering encouragement out to the duckling. Right when the shell broke enough for Donald to see his face, the second egg started rolling. A laugh left Donald, his smile wide at the sight.

After what seemed like forever, Hubert pushed the largest piece away and crawled out of the broken shell, and _oh, this is what Donald has been working for_. Without thinking, Donald pulled Hubert, _a beautiful boy_ , towards him. The way the duckling looked up at Donald made him melt. The chirping lit up the originally quiet house and Donald couldn’t be happier.

He immediately began grooming the young hatchling. Using a stray blanket to wipe him, Donald started meticulously fluffing and preening the duckling’s down. The little boy started helping as well, beginning to clean himself, letting out soft chittering noises.

Glancing towards the other egg, Donald was surprised to see so much of the egg already cracked. Dewford may be hatching second, but it was obvious he had tons of energy to make up for it. As Donald shushed and soothed the first boy, little Dewey made quick work of the shell.

It wasn’t long before Dewey tumbled out, leaving the third egg as the last to come out. Donald wrapped Huey into a red blanket and held him in his lap. Reaching forward, he replicated the earlier grooming with Dewey. Despite Dewey’s constant movement, Donald managed to hold him down long enough to clean him up.

Finally the two boys were deep asleep and resting in their uncle’s arms. He was tired and worn out, but his mood was lifted by the two sweet boys that hatched. The sight of them was enough to make every heartache in his life worth it.

Except, the final egg, Llewellyn, didn’t even budge. It wasn’t unusual for an egg to take this long, but Donald couldn’t help but become anxious. Hopefully it was taking just taking its time.

The same moment Donald was about to call for a midwife or a nurse or _anyone_ , the egg started shifting. Taking much longer than the other two, Llewellyn slowly and steadily broke away at the shell. The absolute elation Donald felt at seeing Louie tiredly push open his egg was one of the brightest feelings he ever had. He grabbed and held Louie close as the boy tiredly began preening himself.

While Louie was dried off, the other two ducklings rose. Their chirping was loud and active. The little ducks explored everything they could of the small pool with Donald carefully guiding them away from the sides.

There was a small pang of hurt when he remembered Della was supposed to be here. She was supposed to see their hatching and preen them and hold them first. _But she’s not here_ , he thought, _I am_. And he would give the boys everything she should’ve given them.

“Boys,” he softly spoke. The ducklings directed some attention towards him. Donald scooped them up close to him, the way he remembered his mother doing. The kids cuddled into him, similar to how the newly hatched do in movies, and took his embrace as a sign of safety and calm.

It wasn’t long before they were all lulled to sleep on the rocking boat.

**Author's Note:**

> So that's some good fluff. I love Dad!Donald and I love how the new series embraces that. Technically I have other work to be doing (fanfiction included), but here is what I'm doing instead. Hope you liked it


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